Communication.

Abstract

Communication is a complex, multifaceted process through which people and organizations exchange information; form and dispute understandings; organize and coordinate activities; influence one another; create communities; and generate, maintain, and undermine beliefs, values, perspectives, symbols, and ideologies, among other things. Depending on which of these one concentrates on, communication will be defined and studied differently (Deetz, 2001). Despite difficulties in pinning it down, there is also little doubt of the importance of communication in organizations. Communication is the glue that holds organizations together, and the communication structure is the organizational nervous system. Simon (1976), for instance, argued that organizational structures were simply the sum total of communicative relationships among organizational members.In the first major section of this chapter, we discuss some general considerations about the nature and structure of communication in organizations. We first consider several different viewpoints on the nature of communication in organizations. Then we turn to the structure of communication in organizations, particularly in terms of communication networks and their properties. Following this, we discuss different media of organizational communication and their impacts on the communication process.Taking these general concepts into account, the second major section of this chapter considers the state of current knowledge concerning six core organizational communication processes: (a) command, control, and coordination; (b) socialization, assimilation, and identification; (c) decision making; (d) participation, empowerment, and domination; (e) culture, community, and support; and (f) interorganizational communication. The role and function of communication in each of these core processes is discussed.Finally, in the conclusion, we touch briefly on general trends and future directions for the study of communication in organizations. THE NATURE OF COMMUNICATION IN ORGANIZATIONSThis section first considers the nature of communication and how it is studied. Following this, we consider the structure of communication and media of communication in organizations.

Communication Behaviors to Implement Innovations: How Do AEC Teams Communicate in IPD Projects?

“…In the AEC industry, project team sizes vary depending on project scales. As project scale and team size increase, information exchange among team members can become difficult and complicated due to communication problems related to: missing information, misunderstanding messages, and confusion in responsibility distribution (Poole, ). Chinowsky, Diekmann, and Gallotti () argue that project success requires both management of technical components (e.g., schedule, task, and resource) and effective collaboration among project participants.…”

“…First, each party's responsibilities per tier placement and their unique experiences create differences in the interpretation and importance of events and actions, creating difficulties at times in understanding. Furthermore, time, status, and geographic differences between different tier members complicate coordination (Poole, ) and communication. Second, Tiers 1 through 3 members become project stakeholders due to the values they create for the project (Lewis, ).…”

“…These constructs are not explicitly addressed in Klein and Sorra's () theoretical model of innovation implementation. Although they could arguably be assumed in their model, it is critical to specify these constructs so that communicative aspects of change, theorized elsewhere as essential to organizational innovation (Rogers, ; Poole, ), can be formally examined. Therefore, communication behaviors are proposed as another influencing construct in this framework, as shown in Figure .…”

Welcoming Newcomers in Start-Ups: Challenges for Strategic Internal Communication

“…Regarding communication as a transactional accomplishment, and thus focusing on the participants in relation to each other, is thus congruent with the interactionist perspective in OS. 8 Poole (2011) hints at this connection between an interactionist perspective in OS and the need for a transactional view of communication, as he mentions that whereas socialisation is often conceptualised as a "[…] one-way process in which the organization shapes the employee […]", we should instead " […] think of it as an interaction process involving both the employee and organization […]", as the newcomer learns and adjusts, but existing employees and the organisation as such are also affected by the new employee (p. 256). This is consistent with more recent views of strategic communication acknowledging its potential emergent character (Winkler & Etter, 2018) and the implications hereof.…”

Openness Toward Organizational Change Scale (OTOCS): Validity evidence from Brazil and Portugal

“…Top management openness can also be a major influence on organizational climate [15] as openness has its basis in affect and trust. Barsade and Gibson [16] note that affect permeates organizations as emotions (i.e., affective processes) create and support work motivation and that emotions spring to the fore when changes impact employees' work.…”